The Only Time Draco Malfoy Was Ever Useful
by Marissa Elizabeth
Summary: Why did Ginny kiss Harry in her sixth year? She was told to. But by whom?    *NEW* Continuation into Chapter Two.


Draco Malfoy never realized how truly impatient he was until he was forced to lie in wait for someone he wasn't even sure was coming at all. He knew from years of watching (in a non-stalker way, of course) the girl that whenever she came in from the Quiddich pitch, this was the rout she took. "What if she went a different way today?" Draco mumbled to himself in frustration. For the millionth time, he tried to rationalize that thought. She was stubborn. Even when her friends refused to go with her, she always took this shortcut. Always.

Draco heard steady footsteps coming down the flagstone hallway and knew in the back of his mind that this was the girl he was waiting for. He stepped out of his alcove hiding place and looked the girl in the face. He was right. Ginny Weasly was marching down the hallway, determined to beat her friends to the common room. Draco thought to himself that she would be a bit late today and nearly laughed, but then thought that that might ruin his whole operation.

He could see in her face that she was surprised and immediately angry. He knew that she probably assumed he was here to make her day a bit worse. She was about to learn how wrong she was.

Draco put out his hands in surrender. His wand was in the back pocket of his jeans, but for all Ginny knew, he was unarmed. He first tried to establish that he was not a threat, but suddenly he was scared. Did he really want to do this? He took a deep, steadying breath and decided that yes, yes he did.

"I know what you're thinking," Draco said in the steadiest voice he could manage. "But please, hear me out. I'm here to help you."

Much could be said about Ginny Weasly. She was fiery, she was talented, she was stubborn, and she was fair. She would give anyone a chance. Even, and she hated to say it, Draco "The Ferret" Malfoy.

She slowly lowered her wand, but pointedly didn't put it away. She wanted Malfoy to know that she could take it out at a moment's notice. Even less, if she deemed it necessary.

"You have about thirty seconds before I bore of this charade and hex you Malfoy. Starting now." Ginny said in a hard, slightly threatening voice. Draco began his speech, overly conscious of the time limit. He knew that the Weasley girl would hold fast to it, unless he kept her attention.

"Weaslette, I have come to a conclusion over the past week or so," Draco stated in a drawl. "And because it is so blatantly obvious, it has become annoying to me. Almost like a fly that I just can't seem to swat away. I must have this annoyance taken care of, you understand. In doing this, I must help you. Although I hate to do it Weaslette, I must. For the sake of my sanity. I can't take watching this any more!"

Ginny read in to what Draco was telling her. He was helping her, but not for her. He was doing this for himself, most of all. This neither surprised, nor concerned her.

"If you continue to call me that, I'll hex you, Malfoy." She meant it. Another thing that can be said about Ginny. She makes good on her threats.

"Okay Ginny," said Malfoy, taking on a softer tone and using her first name "Do you even know what I'm talking about, first of all?"

Ginny's mind, in all honesty, was coming up blank. She had not a single clue as to what this Slytherin sixth-year was trying to make allusions to. She slowly shook her head no, slightly afraid, without knowing why, that this was the wrong answer. She suddenly became puzzled. Why did she suddenly not want to disappoint this boy?

Draco gently smacked his forehead and Ginny winced at the loud sound in the otherwise quiet corridor. Both students blushed, neither knowing why they were embarrassed.

"Well, Ginny, I'm talking about your current romantic situation concerning one Harry Potter." Draco choked on the name, but somehow managed to keep his voice even.

Ginny's heart skipped a beat at the mere mention of him. Her mind went into overdrive, questions she had pondered millions and millions of times before. Does he like me? What if he doesn't? What if he just sees me as his sister? Draco could tell that Ginny couldn't form a coherent reply, so he simply continued.

"Let me make this simple for you. Potter. Likes. You. And. You. Like. Potter. I don't understand why you two aren't together yet. I can feel the sickly sweetness all the way across the Great Hall, and frankly, it's been spoiling my meals." Draco had to constantly remind her that he was doing this for himself. Not for her. Ginny got the message.

Ginny dropped to a more comfortable sitting position on the floor, leaning herself against the wall. Draco sat next to her. Close, but not too close.

"How do you know, Malfoy?" Ginny was almost pleading with him, because this concerned who she thought was the love of her life. This was important. Because she loved him more than anyone. Girls in the lavatory gossiped about the "famous Harry Potter" the amazing seeker, the Boy Who Lived. They talked about how gorgeous he was, with his bright green eyes and his jet black hair. Ginny had always stayed quiet during those times, because they had all fallen for him, but only once. Ginny had fallen for Harry twice. First, she fell in love with the idea of Harry Potter, the superstar. The brave baby who defeated the most powerful wizard of all time. But then, after a while, she fell in love again. This time with her older brother's best friend. The one that's always breaking his glasses and is horrible at Potions. They weren't the same person, not really. And a lot of the time, in the lavatory with the other girls, Ginny felt special. Because Ginny felt like she was the only one that knew the real boy behind the Chosen One. And that boy knew her.

And in this moment, Ginny felt like Malfoy knew that too.

"Well Ginny, it's even in the way he looks at you. The way he speaks to you. It's the dynamic between the two of you."

"I would like a bit more hard evidence than that, Draco" said Ginny, using his first name for the first time.

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" said Draco, rolling his eyes.

"When have I ever made anything easy for you, Malfoy?" asked Ginny, rolling her eyes as well. Neither of the two knew if they were kidding or not. Draco whispered "Never." Under his breath. Ginny wasn't supposed to her him, but she did anyway.

"Well, how is this for hard evidence?" asked Draco, beginning what would turn out to be a very embarrassing tale. "About two years ago, Potter and I got into one of our particularly bad fights, and, to get to me, he insulted one of my female friends, Pansy Parkinson. This really hit home with me because…well…because I liked Pansy." Draco was blushing heavily, Ginny had to resist the urge to giggle. If this conversation wasn't so serious, she'd be making a list of who she would tell first, Luna, or Hermione?

"I tried to let it go, but I just couldn't. I wanted to make sure Potter never insulted Pansy again, but I knew that I couldn't simply order him, because that would make him want to do it more. So I came up with a plan. I would offer Potter a deal. He would never insult Pansy again, and I would never insult one girl of his choosing. I was so sure he was going to say that…" Draco choked on her name. "Hermione girl, but he didn't. Instead, he looked me in the eyes and said "Lay off Ginny Weasly, Forever." So far, neither of us have broken our promises. I've insulted your brothers, your family, your father's job, your home, and your background, but never you. And now you know why. Because Potter loved you even then. He's loved you for years, Ginny."

Ginny's heart and mind went into overdrive. On any other normal day, she wouldn't have believed a single word that came out of this boy's mouth. But for some reason, in this moment, with his steely, blue-grey eyes boring into her warm hazel ones, she knew he was telling the truth. And this made Ginny do something she never thought she would ever do, and would never speak of again. She threw her arms around Draco Malfoy and gave him a tight hug. She whispered "Thank you." Into his ear, and she meant it. Then she stood up and gave him a genuine smile, and she ran off to her common room, to meet her knight in shining armor. When her footsteps faded away, Draco nearly tore himself apart. He wanted to call after her more than he had ever wanted anything before. He wanted to scream, to tell her that Potter wasn't the only one in love with her, that he was too, that he wanted her too. He wanted to spend the rest of his life in that moment he was in her arms, to feel her close. But he let her go, he let her run, because he knew that hurting him would make her happy. Again and again he had to rationalize. He knew who he was. He was a trainee. He was going to be a Death Eater, and Ginny would probably grow up to be an Auror. A war was coming, and they were going to be on opposite sides of the battlefield. He was going to hurt the ones she loved, he knew it. He also knew she would never love him the same way he loved her. He knew that he loved her more than Potter did, but he also knew that Potter could make her happy. And that was something Draco simply couldn't do. He could love her with all his heart, he could give her everything, but he simply could not make her happy.

"Well Draco," he whispered to himself. "if Potter makes her happy, that's the 678th reason you have to hate him. If he breaks her heart, that's the 679th."


End file.
